New Misconduct Detected: 35 Criminal Cases Under Investigation, Over 74 Million AMD Recovered

As of May 8, 2020, the regional investigative departments of the Investigative Committee of Armenia have initiated and accepted proceedings for 35 criminal cases and 2 materials regarding alleged misconducts in the process of allocating land plots for the installation of cellular communication antennas by community leaders. Of these, 8 criminal cases and 1 material are being processed in the Shirak regional investigative department, 3 criminal cases in Lori, 3 in Tavush, 1 criminal case and 1 material in Aragatsotn, 3 in Ararat, 2 in Kotayk, 3 in Gegharkunik, and 12 criminal cases in Syunik.

It should be noted that these criminal cases are being investigated in less than a month by the regional branches of the Investigative Committee, and immediately after accepting them, extensive investigatory and other procedural actions have been conducted to ensure a complete, objective, and comprehensive examination, as well as to restore the property damages caused to the communities.

In the 8 cases and 1 material under investigation by the Shirak regional investigative department, the damage to the communities has been determined to be 71,657,595 AMD, of which 2,000,000 AMD has been transferred to the depositor account of the Investigative Committee as compensation for the damage.

The 3 criminal cases being processed in the Lori regional investigative department revealed that the communities have suffered damage of 58,784,284 AMD, with 14,494,000 AMD transferred to the Investigative Committee's depositor account as compensation.

During the pre-trial stage of the 3 criminal cases under investigation by the Tavush regional investigative department, 1,200,000 AMD has been recovered from the damage of 7,296,445 AMD caused to the community and transferred to the Investigative Committee's depositor account.

In one case and one material under investigation in the Aragatsotn regional investigative department, the total damage of 7,598,000 AMD to the communities has been fully recovered.

In the 3 criminal cases being processed by the Ararat regional investigative department, 5,400,000 AMD has been recovered from the total damage of 20,961,500 AMD caused to the communities and transferred to the Investigative Committee's depositor account.

In the 2 criminal cases being processed in the Kotayk regional investigative department, as compensation for the damage of 18,873,000 AMD caused to the communities, 5,500,000 AMD has been transferred to the Investigative Committee’s depositor account.

In the 3 criminal cases under investigation in the Gegharkunik regional investigative department, it has been determined that communities suffered damage of 13,560,925 AMD, of which 7,075,075 AMD has been transferred to the community budget.

In the 12 criminal cases being processed in the Syunik regional investigative department, it has been determined that communities suffered damage of 47,320,472 AMD, of which 30,904,916 AMD has been transferred to the Investigative Committee's depositor account as compensation.

Overall, the alleged misconducts have caused damage totaling 246,052,221 AMD to the communities, of which 74,171,991 AMD has been recovered to date.

The investigation of the mentioned 35 criminal cases continues, and a decision has been made regarding 1 material to refuse the initiation of a criminal case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal liability.